The Trials
by Spartan134
Summary: Someone is watching the actions of the students of Beacon Academy. What's his purpose? Is he good or evil? Read and find out...
1. Chapter 1: Observations

Chapter: 1

Observations

A RWBY Fanfiction

By: BarerSpartan134

Jaune Arc panted with exhaustion, the tip of his sword dipping towards the ground, yet stubbornly keeping his shield in front of his body. Pyrra Nikos didn't miss the hole in his defense and lunged forward leading with her weapon. Jaune pivoted away, knocking Pyrra's blow away with his shield. Stepping in, he approached her from the side, bringing his sword down in an overhead strike. Thinking victory finally in his grasp, a triumphant grin played across his face as he followed through with his swing. Pyrra brought her own shield above her head, harmlessly glancing Jaune's sword out of the way. Sweeping with her leg she took Jaune off his feet and onto his back.

Jaune landed hard, blasting the wind from his lungs. Attempting to sit up and bring his weapons to bear he was stopped by Pyrra's foot thudding firmly into his chest forcing him back down.

"Do you yield?" Pyrra asked pointedly.

Jaune held his determined gaze for a moment longer then let it slide away into a good natured grin.

"I almost had you that time," he said still grinning.

"Almost, but not quite," said Pyrra offering her hand.

Accepting her hand she pulled him to his feet.

Noticing the glum expression on his face, she added quickly "However you've made excellent progress since we've started these sessions!"

"You really think so!?" Said Jaune, his expression brightening.

"I do," said Pyrra placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You've got the makings of a great huntsman inside you, Jaune. I just know it." She said with a smile.

Jaune paused for a moment, at a loss for words. Then returned the smile earnestly. "Thank you, Pyrra. I never would have gotten this far without your help."

"Oh, nonsense!" said Pyrra flustered. Taking a quick step past him she added, "That's all for tonight, we should get back before Ren and Nora start to wonder where we are!"

"Right," said Jaune, falling in step behind her with a smile.

Hiei Lykanian sat silouetted against the broken moon. Atop one of Becon Acadamy's many spires, he watched as the two students departed, going over what they had said. Despite his considerable distance from them his keen ears hadn't missed a word, his eyes had followed every move and he_ had_ to admitt that the boy, had indeed made progress since he first began oberving their late night training sessions. He had first discovered them on night much like this a few weeks ago wilst sitting in the exact same spot. At first he had paid no heed to them, that is until he had heard a certain juicy bit of information that was just too good to pass up.

The boy, Jaune Arc, had _lied_ his way into Beacon! At that point they had captured his interest. His first thought had been to go straight to Proffessor Ozpin. Not out of any desire to report the indescresion out of a sense of loyalty or of what was right and wrong. But instead to see the delicious expression on Ozpin and Proffesor Goodwitch's faces when he realized he had let such a thing slip past him. And the added entertainmet of seeing the boy drug off to face criminal charges for forging documents. Picturing it all had brought a smile to his face. The very thought made his lusterous black tail begin to wag back and forth of it's own accord. (A habit of which he was less than proud of.)

But then had decided against it. "One does not pick fruit from a tree until it has ripened," he thought to himself with a smile. He liked always being one step ahead of everyone else. It gave him cards to play, an ace in the hole for when he really needed it. And as far as he was concerned, there were never too many aces in the deck. Besides these two had been his only late-night entertainment as of late. Without them maintaining his interest he would have nothing to occupy his time. Meaning he would have no excuse not to do actual work!

"Speaking of which, I have a meeting to get to," said Hiei reming himself aloud.

Turning his gaze to the moon, he noted it's position in the sky.

"The night is still young, I have time," he said to no one in particular.

Bringing his attention back to the moon again he couldn't help but feel a profound sense of sadness. Truly it was a thing of beauty, horrible beauty of something once complete but now terribly scarred. Yet from the broken chunks of the moon stubbornly caught in it's infinite grasp you get the since of it striving to be whole once more. Oh! What he wouldn't give to have seen it just once when it was full!

Pulling himself back to reality, he grimaced when he saw how high the moon had risen. How long had he gazed at it, lost in a fantasy? Sighing, he turned and lept down to a ledge far below. For any human, such an act in the pitch black of night would be considered suicidal. But for a faunus like himself with his night vision it was childs play. Landing lightly on the balls of his feet he swung down to ground level, and started off at a leisurly pace towards his destination. After all he was already late, his associates could wait a while longer...


	2. Chapter 2: Associates and Appointments

Chapter: 2

Associates and Appointments

A RWBY Fanfiction

By: BarerSpartan134

Hiei sauntered into Professor Ozpin's office an hour after their appointed meeting time.

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!" Said Professor Goodwitch, her mouth pressed in a tight line and a disapproving look in her eyes.

"Ah, my most sincere apologies," said Hiei dipping into a slightly exaggerated bow.

"But you see I simply got caught up staring at the beautiful moon we have this night," he said with a smile.

Professor Goodwitch huffed. "More likely you were out spying on people again!" she said rolling her eyes.

Hiei gasped, "Ms, Goodwitch you wound me! And to think you suspect me of all people for such a despicable act!" He said with an innocent expression on his face.

Glenda just narrowed her eyes.

Hiei frowned momentarily, seeing as how he was at least _half_ telling the truth, but decided to let it slide and was soon smiling his signature sly grin once again.

Professor Ozpin, who had been sitting patiently watching the exchange spoke up, "If both of you are finished pointing out each others flaws, let us get down to business."

"Of course," said Hiei sliding comfortably into a chair, leaning back and throwing a leg over the arm. Ozpin knew exactly what he was doing; he had played this mental chess game with Hiei many times. Hiei never did anything without purpose. Everything was a means to an end with him. He was testing his limits, seeing just how much stress he was currently under. No emotion played across his face, he would not give him _another_ card to play.

Glenda opened her mouth to chastise him for his brash behavior, but once again Ozpin stepped in.

Raising his hand to quell another rising argument, "Ms, Goodwitch please leave us" he said calmly.

Glenda started to say something else but thought better of it.

"As you wish," she said with a nod and started towards the door.

However, she did not miss the ever so slight smugness on Hiei's face and whipped him on the tail as she passed.

Crying out in pain and surprise he whirled on her.

"What the Hell was that for?" Hiei growled.

"Oh you know, sometimes a naughty dog needs to be whipped," said Glenda innocently.

Hiei scowled, and this time it was Glenda's turn to smile. She turned and left satisfied she had taken some of the wind out of his sails.

"Perhaps you should use more tact when you speak to Ms. Goodwitch; she's the type of person to slap a leash on you if your not careful," said Professor Ozpin, taking a sip of his coffee.

Hiei, almost, _almost_, told him about Jaune Arc being there illegally, just to bring back a measure of his wounded pride, but bit back his words and forced a smile back to his face.

"She would do well to know the difference between a dog and a wolf," said Hiei smoothing out the fur on his tail, (His one vanity).

"And that would be?" said Ozpin arching an eyebrow.

"One of us can not be leashed!" said Hiei, narrowing his eyes.

Dismissing the argument with a wave of his hand, he took another sip of his coffee.

Sitting back down, except this time in a reasonable position, he looked Ozpin in the eye.

"It appears we have a bad habit of getting on unrelated tangents during our appointments," said Hiei with a grin.

"I want you to take charge of a group of first year students and put them under your special training regiment," said Ozpin suddenly.

The abrupt shift in conversation took Hiei thoroughly by surprise, but only for a moment. Taking another moment to coordinate his thoughts, he became suddenly very serious. Crossing his arms he leaned back and looked Ozpin dead in the eye.

"First years, huh? You must have a lot of faith in these particular students to hand them over to me so soon," said Hiei studying Ozpin's face for any reaction; he got none.

"I've, sent the dossiers of the students you'll be handling to your Scroll. Please take a look at them _as soon as you have time_," said Ozpin putting special emphasis on the end of the sentence.

If their conversations were to indeed be treated as a chess game Hiei felt as if he had just been put in check.

"You know I've heard whispers of a troublemaking first year that got moved ahead _two whole years_ just so she could attend Beacon, rather scandalous if you ask me. Don't you agree?" said Hiei leaning in, his sly grin widening practically ear to ear.

"And that my friend is checkmate," Hiei thought to himself.

Ozpin's eye's narrowed, but was not overly surprised.

"Your keen ears serve you well," said Ozpin with grudging approval.

"I wouldn't be quite as useful without them," said Hiei, his wolf like ears twitching.

"Well, if were done here I'll see myself out," said Hiei rising from his chair.

As he headed towards the door he heard Ozpin speak from over his shoulder.

"Hiei, you're unique even amongst your own kind. Try not to frighten them too much would you?" said Ozpin, his tone serious.

Hiei turned around, and this time the smile he had on his face sent a shiver down Professor Ozpin's spine.

"If their afraid of me, it will have nothing to do with the fact that I'm a Faunus," said Hiei in a tone that gave Ozpin no doubt in his mind that this time Hiei was telling nothing but the absolute truth.

"Now that was checkmate!" Hiei thought to himself as he walked down the hall to his quarters.

Satisfied he had wrested control back to his side during their meeting he thought about how best to proceed from here on with Professor Ozpin.

Shaking his head he pushed the thoughts from his mind as he gazed out the window. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the first promises of dawn. For the first time after his meeting with Professor Ozpin, Hiei realized just how tired he was. Sighing, he continued on towards his quarters. He would be getting no sleep anytime soon; after all, he had a lot of reading to do, he thought to himself with a grimace.

"Yes, a lot of reading to do indeed," Hiei said to himself looking down at one particular dossier. One titled Ruby Rose…


	3. Chapter 3: Memories

Chapter: 3

The Old and the New

A RWBY Fanfiction

By: BarerSpartan134

Hiei turned fitfully in his sleep. A thousand images ran through his mind at once; none of them pleasant. Two children being ushered out the back door, running barefoot through dark alleys, Shouts and screams coming from behind them, running, running, running, a crying girl who can't calm down, an older brother unsure what to do, fear, fear, anger, anger, large crowds and mounting rage, a desire to leave, a desire to fight, and a gunshot making the decision for them.

Hiei awoke with a start, cold sweat rolling down his face. As he fought to keep his many emotions in check he rubbed his eyes and shook free the last remnants of the nightmare.

"How much longer must I live with this torment?" said Hiei aloud, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"As long as you shall live," said a voice from across the room.

Turning his gaze towards the speaker, he saw his teammate Lloyd Leyak sitting in a chair, staring at him.

Lloyd was a human of average height, with a strong athletic body needed of a huntsman. He wore a dull gray coat with a red trim, a red cravat on his collar. However his most defining feature lay under the floppy brim of his matching fedora and behind his oval shaped wire rimmed glasses. Yes, his most defining feature was his eyes. They were solid red, horrible and hypnotic. Looking into them was like drowning in a sea of blood. The thought sent a shiver down Hiei's spine that wasn't caused by his nightmare

"Forever, huh," said Hiei with an ashen look on his face.

A moment of silence passed between the two, Lloyd's unjudging red eyes regarded his teammate with worry.

"They're just memories," said Lloyd closing his eyes. "Intangible, nothing more than dust and whispers of the past," said Lloyd in a calm, almost sad voice. "We shall only be free of them when we leave this earth, and travel into whatever awaits, to either find our rest, or answer for what we've done,"

"Dust has a way of piling up in dark places," said Hiei with a bitter smile.

Opening his eyes, Lloyd spoke up, "I can help with that you know?"

"No," said Hiei with an edge of steel in his voice.

Undaunted, Lloyd continued, "My specialties lie in the mind, my friend," he said with a smile. "A simple mental barrier would relieve you of this torment," said Lloyd earnestly.

"You would have me shut out my problems rather than face them like a coward!" said Hiei, in a venomous tone.

Seeing Hiei's mounting rage, he backed off.

"I only wished to offer some solace for whatever plagues you, my friend," said Lloyd calmly.

Hiei calmed "I know, but I have to deal with this myself" said Hiei his expression softening.

"As you say," said Lloyd nodding.

Seeing the opened Scroll on his bed Lloyd spoke up, "Didn't you have something you were doing?" said Lloyd pointing at the Scroll.

Hiei grimaced, noticing the unfinished work in front of him. "I didn't intend to fall asleep," he said, ashamed of his lack of diligence.

"Really?" said Lloyd quizzically. "Seems to me like something you'd do," he said leaning back.

"Hey, I might avoid work but when it _does_ catch up to me I do it to the best of my ability," said Hiei grinning, becoming more like his old self again.

"Well, you did get in late last night," said Lloyd with a shrug.

"Regardless I'd have liked to have had this done," said Hiei.

"How long did I sleep anyway?" he asked Lloyd

Lloyd shrugged again, "Not sure, I just got back from lunch"

"Lunch!" said Hiei with dismay.

"Slept longer than you thought?" Lloyd asked as Hiei sprang up off his bunk.

"A lot longer," Hiei said with a frown.

"See what happens when sleep is neglected?" Lloyd chided.

Hiei pulled Lloyd's hat down over his eyes in answer and looked around the room.

"Hey, where's Marik and Nue?" said Hiei referring to the other two members of Team HLIN.

"Marik's still eating and Nue's gone on one of her walks," said Lloyd as he readjusted his hat on his head and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Typical, well I don't need them right now anyway. And what are you up to?" said Hiei bringing his attention back to Lloyd.

"I have my own things to do," said Lloyd motioning to the small lab on the desk beside them.

"Another Dust experiment?" said Hiei taking a step back.

"Are you sure you should still be doing those after what happened last time?" Hiei questioned.

"I….admit that attempting to fuse fire and lighting had…less than favorable results" said Lloyd.

Hiei just arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"But my research into synthetic Dust crystals could revolutionize the way we look at Dust all together!" Lloyd quickly added.

Hiei's expression was one of uncertainty. Noting his expression Lloyd became very grim.

"Dust is a mineral, meaning it has to be mined. Meaning it's a natural resource, which means it has the potential to run out. What are we supposed to do then? Dust is our way of survival in this dark world," said Lloyd finishing his grim line of thinking.

"It would take centuries for us to tap out the planets source of Dust," said Hiei reassuringly

"That's what everyone says until it's too late, said Lloyd turning towards his lab.

Focusing on the various kinds of powdered Dust in his assorted jars he spoke like he was in another world.

"Imagine it Hiei, I could create Dust with entirely new properties! The ability to move earth, control plants and trees, or move metal objects….," said Lloyd, wistfully.

Hiei thought about his last example for a moment, "Wouldn't that just be a magnet?" said Hiei, looking at Lloyd.

Lloyd just narrowed his eyes, "Don't you have something you need to do?"

"Your right, I'd best be going," said Hiei

"Best you should," said Lloyd taking out a couple vials of Dust powder and examining their contents.

"See ya later, and don't be causing anymore explosions," said Hiei slapping Lloyd on the back harder than he intended.

Lloyd lurched forward sending both open vials cascading towards a bunsen burner's open flame. The two watched with frozen expression of horror as time seemed to slow down, the Dust getting closer towards the flame.

All Hiei had time to utter was an apologetic "Oops" before the Dust connected with the flame.

It was said that on that day every student currently at Beacon Academy felt a small tremor go through the school.

Ruby Rose feeling the slight vibration startled awake as she sat in Professor Port's classroom.

"I dare say! That was mighty strange!" bellowed Professor Port his gut jiggling.

"Felt like an explosion,' mused Blake as she stared at the ceiling

"Huh…" said Ruby to no one in particular.

"What's up?" inquired Yang, turning towards her sister.

"Nothing, just an odd feeling that things are going to start shaking up around here," said Ruby, making a pun in reference to the vibration.

"Great, just what we need,_ more_ trouble," groaned Weiss.

Little could they possibly know….


End file.
